TRUST in Congress Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7200 To require Members of Congress and their spouses and dependent children to place certain assets into blind trusts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2020 Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. ROY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To require Members of Congress and their spouses and de- pendent children to place certain assets into blind trusts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparent Represen- 4 tation Upholding Service and Trust in Congress Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘TRUST in Congress Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF MEMBERS OF 7 CONGRESS AND THEIR SPOUSES AND DE- 8 PENDENT CHILDREN IN BLIND TRUST. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7200.IH H7200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7200 IH (1) MEMBERS OCCUPYING OFFICE ON DATE OF 1 ENACTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 2 of enactment of this Act, a Member of Congress and 3 any spouse or dependent child of such Member shall 4 place any covered investment owned by such Mem- 5 ber, spouse, or dependent child into a qualified blind 6 trust. 7 (2) MEMBERS ASSUMING OFFICE AFTER DATE 8 OF ENACTMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 9 date an individual becomes a Member of Congress 10 after the date of enactment of this Act, such indi- 11 vidual and any spouse or dependent child of such in- 12 dividual shall place any covered investment owned by 13 such individual, spouse, or dependent child into a 14 qualified blind trust. 15 (3) MINGLING OF ASSETS.—A spouse or de- 16 pendent child of a Member of Congress may place 17 a covered investment in a qualified blind trust estab- 18 lished by such Member under paragraph (1) or (2). 19 (4) ASSETS UPON SEPARATION.—A Member of 20 Congress and any spouse or dependent child of such 21 Member may not dissolve any qualified blind trust in 22 which a covered investment has been placed pursu- 23 ant to paragraph (1) or (2), or otherwise control 24 such an investment, until the date that is 180 days 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7200.IH H7200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7200 IH after the date such Member ceases to be a Member 1 of Congress. 2 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 3 (1) MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE.—A Member of 4 Congress who is a Member of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives shall— 6 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 7 a qualified blind trust is established under sub- 8 section (a), certify to the Clerk of the House of 9 Representatives that such trust has been estab- 10 lished and that any covered investment owned 11 by such Member or a spouse or dependent child 12 of such Member has been placed in such trust; 13 or 14 (B) certify to the Clerk that such Member 15 or a spouse or dependent child of such Member 16 does not own any covered investment. 17 (2) MEMBERS OF THE SENATE.—A Member of 18 Congress who is a Senator shall— 19 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 20 a qualified blind trust is established under sub- 21 section (a), certify to the Secretary of the Sen- 22 ate that such trust has been established and 23 that any covered investment owned by such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7200.IH H7200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7200 IH Member or a spouse or dependent child of such 1 Member has been placed in such trust; or 2 (B) certify to the Secretary that such 3 Member or a spouse or dependent child of such 4 Member does not own any covered investment. 5 (3) REPORT.—The Clerk of the House of Rep- 6 resentatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall 7 make available on the public internet website of the 8 Clerk and the Secretary, respectively, any certifi- 9 cation made under paragraph (1) or (2). 10 (c) EXCEPTION.—A spouse or dependent child who 11 receives compensation from their primary occupation 12 through any covered investment shall not be required to 13 place such covered investment in a qualified blind trust 14 under this Act. 15 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 16 (1) COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘commodity’’ has 17 the meaning given the term in section 1a of the 18 Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a). 19 (2) COVERED INVESTMENT.—The term ‘‘cov- 20 ered investment’’— 21 (A) means investment in a security, a com- 22 modity, or a future, or any comparable eco- 23 nomic interest acquired through synthetic 24 means such as the use of a derivative; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7200.IH H7200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7200 IH (B) does not include— 1 (i) a widely held investment fund de- 2 scribed in section 102(f)(8) of the Ethics 3 in Government Act of 1978; or 4 (ii) a United States Treasury bill, 5 note, or bond. 6 (3) DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term ‘‘dependent 7 child’’ has the meaning given that term in section 8 109(2) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. 9 (4) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘‘Mem- 10 ber of Congress’’ has the meaning given that term 11 in section 109(12) of such Act. 12 (5) QUALIFIED BLIND TRUST.—The term 13 ‘‘qualified blind trust’’ has the meaning given that 14 term in section 102(f)(3) of such Act. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7200.IH H7200 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS